Hobbies And Interests
Lunar Eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are lined up in a manner that puts the Earth directly in front of the sun's rays. This blocks out the sun's rays and creates a shadow that falls on the moon. The moon will slowly begin to turn black during a lunar eclipse and will eventually become completely dark as the shadow falls over its surface. This area of shadow is known as the umbra. The areas of shadow where the moon is still partially visible lie to the left and right of the umbra and are called the penumbra. Lunar eclipses can last several hours.
Occurrence
According to the HiWAAY Information website's page on lunar eclipses, a lunar eclipse would occur for a few hours every full moon if the moon orbited the Earth at the same degree that the Earth orbited the sun. However, the moon's orbit is at a five-degree tilt when compared to the Earth's orbit of the sun. This creates an offset in rotation that makes lunar eclipses occur rarer than every month. According to the NASA website's lunar eclipse prediction site, lunar eclipses occur around the world on an average of twice a year.
Prediction
Predicting lunar eclipses is a difficult activity for an amateur astronomer. They would need complex mathematical abilities, such as the ability to calculate the orbits of objects. The NASA lunar eclipse prediction website has a list of predictions that run from 2008 to 2015. They also have a list of past lunar eclipses that begin in 1951 and stretch on to 2007. NASA has also predicted lunar eclipses up to 2050. Each of these predictions comes with a map predicting the visibility of the lunar eclipse. It also includes details on how long it is predicted to last as well as how complete the eclipse will be for each region.
Solar Eclipse
The solar eclipse is the exact opposite of a lunar eclipse. Solar eclipses occur when the moon's shadow blocks out the sun on Earth. Solar eclipses are much rarer due to the size difference between the moon and the Earth. It is much easier for the Earth to block out the sun on the much smaller moon than it is for the moon to block out the sun on the much larger Earth. Solar eclipses also cover a much smaller area of the Earth. Solar eclipses impact areas of several hundred miles in diameter, as opposed to the hemisphere blocked out by a lunar eclipse.